I don't do a lot of kit reviews - at least, not before I start actually bashing on them, anyway - but this one so blew me away, right from opening the box, that I have to show you:

This is the Hobby Boss 350-scale Chinese Type 033 diesel attack sub - in real life, a copy/refinement of the Soviet Romeo, from the Cold War.

And (with apologies to Willie Shakespeare) this is one Romeo you just have to love - starting with both the watercolor(ish) box art (top) and even better painting guide (bottom) - the latter of a quality to rival any color-guide from the best decal- and/or aircraft kits.

Speaking of which, a true pearl included - in the tradition first established by Pitt Road and Dragon/DML - is an accessory patrol aircraft:

Click on Image to Enlarge

Molded in all-clear-styrene (top) is a 1:350 Shuishang Hongzha ("ShuiHong") SH-5 flying boat - a confection of Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corp. (HAMC) which clearly borrowed design elements from both the Soviet Beriev Be-12 (probably under explicit license) and the Japanese Shin Meiwa PS/US-1 (undoubtedly not). The historical significance of the SH-5 does not appear particularly great - as Harbin only produced 6 of them, total - but in modelling this little gem there is certainly real potential - simply if for no other reason than its sheer beauty - even, perhaps, built up all-clear. It would appear Hobby Boss may have agreed, as all its (numerous) parts are molded in the same, flawless clear plastic, and come foam-wrapped, on two sprues (bottom).

Also packed under foam were pieces comprising the Type 033 sail - just two from the absolutely top-notch sprues for the sub, itself:

Click on Image to Enlarge

At left, already clipped from their sprues, and protective wrappings removed, the sail and mast-shears exhibit their elegance - hollow moldings (into which you could even cut open doors/hatches!) to rival the delicacy of anything(s) cast in resin. (From which the scribed-in plating lines only detract, IMHO.) The same crispness and fineness also attends the other parts (right), including the textures on hull- and deck parts (top), as well as (in particular) the propeller shrouds and - for example - a beautiful little torpedo, on the smaller-parts sprue (bottom-left).

Together, the above is already (well) more than good enough, but Hobby Boss continues, truly Over the Top, with a nice little PE fret - mostly containing (redundant, yet still-finer) details for the SH-5, but also a couple tasty tidbits for the 033, including snorkel-fairwater cap-plate and custom-railing for the sail and (again, redundant but finer) propellers. Whichever detail option(s) you choose - the plastic or the PE parts - you're going to end up with top-notch leftovers, for your parts box.

With no prior hint of any of the above, I discovered this kit at my LHS for under $17 - and immediately grabbed it off the shelf, as an affodable Hobby Boss sub to chop-up, for one of my various "scratch-bashes". But now - No Way: this just has to be built OOB, to see just how good it can look. And (especially at this price) what I'll do is simply get another one - perhaps even mold some of its more awesome parts, for resin-casting - and use in multiple, future builds…

To understand how such quality could end up in such a kit, at such a price, one and Only One explanation comes to mind: that a(n ex-) Chinese sub commander had the job - or, at the very least, had the ear of - final quality-control decision-making at Hobby Boss, for this kit. Perhaps even in an official government capacity - as the subject matter (including the Harbin flying boat) is no doubt emblematic of the Rise of the Modern Chinese military. In any case, this kit - from its artwork to its packaging to its moldings to its PE - is clearly a personal expression (even if by a whole team) of pride in workmanship - which absolutely shows, in the final rake-off.

I hope you enjoyed this look at it.

And if anybody can make a liar out of me, above - and show us any other kit(s) this good, at this price, from Hobby Boss (or anybody else, for that matter), do pipe up and let us know!

We truly are seeing a crop of Soviet Cold-War tech boats emerging. The Romeo is very obscure. So can we look forward to a Whiskey Long-Bin? Or Juliet? Wow. Thank you Hobby Boss for crossing this neglected threshold.